


Echoes of a Dead Girl

by UnmovingGreatLibrary



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: F/F, POV Second Person, Present Tense, Rebellion Story Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2018-01-18 10:59:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1426054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnmovingGreatLibrary/pseuds/UnmovingGreatLibrary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Madoka's here to save Homura. Nagisa *sigh* wants to eat cheese again.</p><p>Sayaka can only wish that her feelings were so easy to sort out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kyoko is dead.  
  
You don't need to sleep anymore, but sometimes you have dreams anyway. This one is a recurring nightmare: the view from within a helmet, and below you, a much smaller Kyoko, weathering everything that you throw at her. You watch, helpless, as your body moves by itself, pounding Kyoko with attack after attack. You scream for yourself to stop, and the worst part is, you know that you didn't even try to back then. You wanted it. You were angry, and hurt, and wanted to make the entire world feel as much pain and despair as you did for just _one_ second, and Kyoko shouldered that burden.  
  
The dream ends like it always does. Kyoko, battered and bloody, detonates her soul gem, and fire washes over you.  
  
You snap out of your dream-daze, and as always, Madoka is already there with a word of encouragement and a warm hug. Having your best friend turned into an all-seeing law of the universe is kind of weird, too, but it's surprising how quickly you get used to these kinds of things. And if anybody's suited to be a goddess, it's Madoka.  
  
You? You're still just Sayaka. Madoka says that you're part of the Law of the Cycle, but you're not. Not like _she_ is. She's got the infinite kindness and perseverance that a goddess should have. She's _excited_ by it all. Time doesn't really exist here, but it feels like barely a day passes without her coming to gush to you about some new magical girl she's noticed. She really does love every single one.  
  
Even the clones. You know it by heart now: Homura went through 82 timelines to save Madoka. There are 82 of every magical girl or witch who existed during that month. 82 Mamis, 82 of you, 82 Nagisas, 82 of hundreds of other magical girls around the world, 82 of Kyoko. Some of them died without becoming witches, but all the rest need salvation.  
  
At first, you were excited about riding down with Madoka to usher the souls of your friends away and ease their curses. Meeting another version of yourself was pretty weird, but it was a fun kind of weird. And then... you met the first Kyoko.  
  
It was the first chance you ever really got to talk to Kyoko after becoming a witch, yourself, but... this Kyoko had never left Kasamino. She'd become a witch there, without ever meeting her universe's Sayaka Miki. She was nice enough, sure, but she couldn't possibly understand what you'd gone through. She couldn't understand what Kyoko— _your_ Kyoko—had done for you.  
  
After that, you stopped riding along to rescue Kyokos. It just makes you uncomfortable. You once mentioned all of this to Madoka, and she smiled and nodded in that infinitely patient way she has now, but you don't think she really _understands_. Madoka loves all magical girls.  
  
But not you. There's only one Kyoko you want to see, and she's dead. She literally blew up her soul to save you, and you'll never even be able to say thanks.

* * *

The flickering barrier of Homura's soul gem—grief seed? It's in kinda in a weird place right now, metaphysically speaking—closes around you. There's a moment of darkness. Around you, you can sense the witch's barrier rearranging itself to accommodate you. You didn't used to be able to feel this stuff, but now that you've got part of Madoka's god-self grafted to your soul for safekeeping, you're a little more omniscient than you used to be. Especially here, in this witch-city contained in a soul gem, an entire tiny world that falls under Madoka's dominion.  
  
It's weird as heck, and you hope this is over soon. Get in, save Homura, get out, and give Madoka her godhood back. Divinity doesn't really suit you.  
  
The barrier finishes rearranging, and to your surprise, you find yourself standing in your family's apartment. It lacks the surreal quality of every other barrier you've seen, but there's no fooling you, now that you're packing some of Madoka's power: this isn't real. You draw your sword and take a look around, expecting a familiar to dart out of the shadows and attack you at any moment, but it really is just your apartment.  
  
Mostly. It's obvious that Homura's seen it before, but there's only so much detail her subconscious could fill in. The squeaky board by the door isn't there. The tiles in the bathroom are the wrong color. You look around and find that the entire place is like this. The last stop is your parents' bedroom...  
  
... there are sounds coming from within. Little metallic plinks and crunching. Whatever this barrier's up to, your parents shouldn't be making sounds like _that_. You might have just found a familiar. You tighten your grip on your sword, and with your other hand, grab the doorknob. One. Two.  
  
THREE! You fling the door open. The room beyond is completely unfamiliar. There are clothes scattered all over the floor. The bed's a mess, with a few dogeared magazines and an empty pocky box sitting on the rumpled covers. A few posters hang on the walls. And at the far end of the room... Kyoko, seated with her back against the bed, enthusiastically playing a video game in between stuffing handfuls of potato chips into her mouth.  
  
As soon as the door opens, she tilts her head back on the bed to glare at you. "H-hey, Sayaka! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?! Jeez!"

* * *

It takes you until evening to track down Nagisa—or Bebe, you remind yourself—and even longer to get her alone for long enough to talk strategy.  
  
Your observations and decisions: Homura's not quite a witch yet, and you might be waiting for weeks. For now, it's best to just wait, keep her emotions as stable as possible, and make sure that everybody survives. You'll just have to blend in for now, and do your best to lead a normal, unsuspicious life.  
  
Which means acting like Kyoko's roommate. She's your roommate now. You can _f_ _eel_ Homura's barrier at the corners of your brain, whispering to you, trying to nudge you to fit into the world it's built. _You are an ordinary magical girl._ _Kyoko Sakura is your roommate. You attend Mitakihara Middle School. You are happy here._ It's... preeeeetty creepy, but you can ignore it easily enough. Apparently everybody who isn't currently tapped into a transcendental aspect of the multiverse isn't so lucky.  
  
Like Kyoko. Barely twenty minutes after you return, she flops down on the couch next to you. "Hey, what gives?" she says, in that grumbling whine she likes so much. "Why'd you run off earlier?"  
  
"Huh? Oh." You're talking to Kyoko. You're talking to Kyoko. After all this time, _you_ are talking to _Kyoko_. This is what you came here for, right? You open your mouth, and a sentence dies on your lips. What the heck is there to even say? _Hey, so don't think I'm crazy, but there's this other universe where magical girls turn into monsters sometimes, and you blew yourself up to save me, and I just wanted to say thanks_? ... you realize you've been sitting there, stunned, for five seconds or so, and she's already staring at you like you're nuts. "Um, h-haha! Nothing much, I just wanted to visit Na—um, Bebe."  
  
For a moment, you're afraid that she won't accept the half-lie, but she just rests her head back against the couch. "If you were going to Mami's place, you should've brought me something back."  
  
"She's not your personal bakery, you know!" You don't even plan it. Maybe the barrier's whispers are getting to you. You just grab one of the throw pillows, then laugh as you swing it around to thud into her stomach.  
  
"H-hey!" Kyoko swings a pillow back, smacking directly into your face, far more forcefully. The fight only ends when the two of you are standing in a drifting pile of pillow guts and there's nothing soft left in reach.  
  
Still panting slightly from the sudden exertion, you grin. "Hey, you know. We should spar tonight."

* * *

Your pulse is pounding in your ears. There's a streak of blood, and probably a nasty bruise, on your leg where you didn't quite dodge an attack fast enough. The only place you could find enough privacy for your duel was an abandoned lot, and the moonlight is reflected up at you from a hundred water-filled potholes and shards of broken glass.  
  
It's _awesome_. Being an incorporeal soul spread across all of space-time has its advantages, but being flesh-and-blood is much more your style. For the first time in some timeless eternity, for the first time since you fell to despair, it feels like you're _you_ again.  
  
Kyoko sweeps her spear at your legs, a low blow intended to trip you or knock you off balance, but you're prepared. You whirl backward, and your cape drops another ring of swords around you. Without even stopping, you fling them at Kyoko one by one, and she jerks her spear around to deflect them. She carries this momentum into a horizontal sweep toward you, and you block the shaft of her spear with your sword, sending sparks flying.  
  
“That easy to block? You must be getting old.” You're teasing, but she really is taking it easy on you. You've _seen_ Kyoko giving her all and trying to kill you. This is much nicer.  
  
Before she can answer, you spring backward, putting some space between you and her, then dash forward to give yourself a little buildup for a counter attack. You swing blow after blow toward Kyoko, relishing the feel of the sword in your hands, the ache of burning muscles, the sound of glass crunching beneath your feet. Kyoko bats each strike away, but staggers under this onslaught until her back is to the alley wall. Your final blow slams against the shaft of her spear, and only comes to a stop centimeters from her face. A clear win if you've ever seen one. You grin and try coming up with a quip for your victory, and then  
  
— _this same sword, driving down toward a much_ _smaller_ _Kyoko, weathering_ _every_ _thing_ _that you_ _throw at her._ _You watch, helpless, as your body moves by itself_ —  
  
The brief flash of memory makes the force drain from your muscles, and you take a step backward. You feel like you might throw up.  
  
Kyoko eyes you, and with as much disinterested curiosity as she can muster, asks, “That cut isn't _that_ bad, is it?”  
  
“N-no, um! I'm...” You brush some sweaty hair out of your face. This isn't your Kyoko. She doesn't know, can't _possibly_ understand, what happened between you and Kyoko. But... today's been the most fun you've had in ages. Maybe you don't need to make her understand, or say that you're sorry, or do anything except be with her right now. You've got the time, after all. No sense in wasting it. “I'm... just... throwing you off-guard for _this_!”  
  
You swing your elbow up in a surprise attack, and she only barely manages to dodge it. Together with Kyoko, you spar on into the night, until the moon is high in the sky.


	2. Chapter 2

Left left right right up up left up right right up left big finish: STOMP.  
  
Kyoko slumps down, panting from the exertion, but it paid off. The screen in front of her enthusiastically announces, “Wow! That's a new record!” and prints off a long, long chain of arcade tickets. She grins back at you and holds them in the air, like some kind of hunter returning home victorious. “See? I told you! You guys in Mitakihara kinda suck. I've barely been here a few weeks, and I already have half the high scores in this place.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. You sure kicked our city's butt at...” You squint at the game title as you sound out the English. “Dog... Drug... Reinforcement.”  
  
Kyoko trades the tickets in for a massive white teddy bear, which she carries on her shoulders as the two of you head home. The sun's just setting, and the streetlights will be on soon. Another hour or so, and it will be time to go meet up with the others for tonight's witch—er, nightmare—hunt. But for now, there's nothing to do but relax.  
  
 _You are an ordinary magical girl._ _Kyoko Sakura is your roommate. You attend Mitakihara Middle School. You are happy here._ Homura's barrier keeps whispering to you, trying to keep you as part of this perfect world, but... there's not much to resist, really. Sometimes, if you relax, you can convince yourself that it's always been like this, and you're just going to spend the rest of eternity here.  
  
You kind of hate to say it, but this place... fighting battles where everything goes right and nobody has to worry about dying or turning into monsters, getting to see everybody alive and working together... it's probably the happiest you've ever been. You barely knew any of these girls except Madoka for more than a few weeks, but now it feels like you've been friends since you were old enough to walk. Even Homura. If she suspects that any of this isn't real, she sure isn't showing it.  
  
Kyoko grabs your hand and jolts you out of your thoughts. “Aah! That ramen shop's still open this late?! C'mon, I wanna get some before they close!”  
  
She runs along, tugging you behind, and you feel the heat rising to your cheeks. Kyoko... especially, is a nice part of this place. You never got to spend time with her before—you were always too busy trying to kill each other. But now, now you want to spend every second you can with her. The thought of ascending back to the heavens and leaving her here terrifies you.  
  
You give her hand a squeeze. Kyoko looks back at you questioningly, but you just smirk and pick up the pace, threatening to leave her behind unless she scrambles. You can't believe it took you _this_ long to realize you have a crush on her, but... you've always been a bit of an idiot.

* * *

Homura's the first one to say anything. Sitting in Mami's living room, you steal a taiyaki from Kyoko, and she tackles you from behind. After you successfully play keepaway with it for a few seconds, she settles on retaliation instead, and starts viciously tickling you. Despite squealing with laughter, you manage to stuff most it into your mouth in a few bites.  
  
“Miki-san, have you and Sakura-san always been... so close?”  
  
Her voice is so soft and timid that you barely even hear her over Kyoko's laughter. “Hehe, well, I guess maybe we're a little closer now that we're living together?” Kyoko uses this distraction to try stealing the last bite of the taiyaki from you, but you stuff it in your mouth and squirm out from under her, then flop onto the couch.  
  
Kyoko settles down next to you, still grumbling, and you get your first good look at Homura. She's still watching the two of you uncertainly, blushing and squirming slightly in her seat... you realize that she wasn't just asking if you're very good friends. Oh. _Oh_.  
  
You look over at Kyoko and laugh nervously. She smirks and stretches back on the couch like a cat. “Nah, she's probably still too obsessed with that Kamijou kid. 'Oh Kyosuke-kun, play me a love song on your fiddle~.'”  
  
“It's a violin.” You stick your tongue out at her, but can't put much force into the correction. “Besides, he's with Hitomi now. I'm over it. I'm happy for them!” These days, you're not even lying when you say that. Watching Hitomi and Kyosuke date was a bit weird at first, but those wounds have been healed for a long, long time. Seeing the reality of their relationship has only helped, because it's not quite the romantic ideal that you'd had in mind when you first made your contract.  
  
“I... see.” Homura looks down at her lap and squirms a bit more, but lets it drop. You're not sure if she seems more embarrassed or... disappointed. Did she _want_ you to say that you're, um... like _that_ with Kyoko? It's been two weeks already, and you're still not sure why her barrier stuck you two living together.  
  
Across the couch, you notice that Kyoko is looking at you incredulously. Fortunately, before she can say anything, Mami enters the room carrying an overladen tray, with Bebe riding on her shoulder. “Now then. Who wants some cake?”

* * *

“So why don't you just ask her out?”  
  
You're only meeting with Nagisa a couple of times a week now. Really, there's not much to discuss. Homura's slide into witch-dom seems slow and gradual, and while you've seen a few signs— familiars peeking out of the shadows, and the fleets of weird blimps that just keep getting more and more common—you're still just watching and waiting.  
  
You've done it enough times for things to fall into a routine, though. You talk on the roof of Mami's apartment building, because nobody's likely to see Nagisa up here. You compare notes on any weird things going on, and make plans for how to handle it if Homura suddenly slides into despair soon. And always, always, Nagisa, in her Bebe form, somehow convinces Mami to give her an entire cheese tray. Today's is already half-gone.  
  
You sigh. Nagisa's surprisingly smart for her age, and knows some of the metaphysical ins and outs of witches even better than you do. But... some matters are beyond even the most precocious ten-year-old. “I don't know... she's fun, and nice,” and the way she sprawls in her sleep, with her tummy uncovered and her hair a mess around her, is too damn cute, and one time you leaned against her while you were watching a movie in the evening and the sound of her heart was the nicest thing you've ever heard, and and and. “B-but I don't want her to think I'm weird. And even if she said yes, we might only be around for another week or so...”  
  
“Hmm.” Nagisa eyes the cheese platter thoughtfully, then picks up one of the tiny wedges (Jarlsberg, you're pretty sure. You've learned a _lot_ about cheeses in the time you've known Nagisa.) and takes a bite from the tip. She nearly melts with delight, and only once she stops shivering does her attention return to the conversation. “I thought that's why you came back, though?”  
  
“I didn't come back to tell her _that_. I just wanted to... make it up to myself, I guess, for never realizing that we were friends until it was too late. Kinda pathetic, huh?”  
  
Nagisa shakes her head, as happy as ever, and offers you a wedge of... you're not actually sure. “I still think Sayaka-chan's pretty cool,” she says with a smile.  
  
“Thanks.” You're not quite sure what this cheese is, but it's soft and sweet. Tasty enough.  
  
“Maybe, um, just being her friend is enough for now?”  
  
“Yeah, maybe!” you agree, rubbing the back of your neck and laughing. Enough for Kyoko, perhaps. You, you might drive yourself crazy at this rate.

* * *

The view from within a helmet, and below you, a much smaller Kyoko, weathering everything that you throw at her. You watch, helpless, as your body moves by itself, pounding Kyoko with attack after attack. You scream for yourself to stop, and the worst part is, you know that you didn't even try to back then. The dream ends like it always does. Kyoko, battered and bloody, detonates her soul gem, and fire washes over you.  
  
You awaken with a scream, in cold sweats. It takes a second to get your bearings again—your room, right. You're safe, and Kyoko's alive. Er, this Kyoko, at least.  
  
The clock says it's 1:24 AM, and you know from experience that it's going to take at least half an hour to calm down enough to get back to sleep. You roll out of bed and trudge out to the kitchen, then pour yourself a glass of water. You turn around, and—  
  
Kyoko's face is centimeters from yours, illuminated by the moonlight and blinking at you blearily. “You shouted. Something up?”  
  
It takes a second for your sleep-fogged mind to process this, then you shrug. “I just had a nightmare. It's, um, nothing major!”  
  
Kyoko yawns and sits down on the table. “Mmh? About what?”  
  
You tense up. Should you tell her? But... no. No, you can't risk throwing away the good thing you have here. Not yet, at least. “O-oh, um, you know, just... regular nightmare things! I have it every night, so it's no big deal. Ehe.”  
  
“I know what you mean. I used to have those all the time about the... thing... with my dad.” Within seconds, she's forced her frown away, but it's replaced by hesitation. She rubs one arm and glances away. “Hey... if there's something that's... bothering you or whatever, you can talk to me about it, you know?”  
  
You're pretty used to Kyoko not giving a damn about anything except her own enjoyment. When she tries to feign nonchalance like this, it's the most obvious thing in the world. “W-what do you mean?”  
  
“I promised Mami I wouldn't tell, but... apparently Bebe said you wanted to talk to me about something?”  
  
You blush furiously. _Dammit Nagisa_. “A-a-a-ah, um, ahaha! Well. I was just thinking that maybe we should start working on that combo attack we were talking about? It'll blow Madoka's mind if we pull _that_ out sometime without anybody knowing it's coming.”  
  
“... oh.” You're a terrible liar, but apparently she buys it. Kyoko looks equal parts confused and crestfallen, then forces a grin. “Yeah, that'd be cool.”  
  
“Ehe, sure would!” You force a laugh. You're not sure if you've ever been more disgusted with yourself than you are right now.  
  
Kyoko studies your face, and for a second, you're terrified that she's figured something out. She just yawns again, though, and slides to the floor. “Sure, we'll figure it out tomorrow. I'm going back to bed, though. 'night.”  
  
It's all you can do to watch her retreating figure. You want to rush forward and grab her, to tell her what you _actually_ want to say, to tell her _everything_... but you can't. Even if... even if Kyoko _does_ feel the same way, Homura can't be far from becoming a witch at this point. You'll be gone soon, and if you have to break her heart on top of abandoning her again, you'll never be able to forgive yourself.  
  
You almost hope it comes soon. You're not sure how long you can keep this up.


	3. Chapter 3

Get in, save Homura, and get out.  
  
That was the plan, at least. You're not sure where it went wrong, but the point where she ripped Madoka's soul from her transcendent being is a good place to start.  
  
To be honest, you weren't paying much attention up to that point. You had other things on your mind. Like Kyoko. This was it, time to ascend back into the heavens with Homura's soul, leaving Kyoko alone until the point when, years from now, she might finally fall to despair and get her own visit.  
  
When Homura pulled everybody outside of space-time, you and Nagisa handled it better than the others; you practically _live_ out here these days, after all. No way to contact Madoka, nothing you can do now that you've given her divinity back... you have to hope that Madoka can stop whatever it is that Homura thinks she's doing.  
  
You're just glad Nagisa's here. She's the one who gave everybody else a pep talk, kept everybody calm even as you all floated in a void. She's the one who led everybody else off, and when you protested, met your eyes and nodded pointedly toward Kyoko.  
  
 _Oh_.  
  
You've been floating alone with Kyoko for a while now. She's doing her best to keep the tough girl act up, but... some things, even the magical girl life doesn't prepare you for. She's scared. She's scared, and it makes you ache to help her. At the moment, she's doing her best to pretend to be _really_ interested in inspecting her spear for any damage from that last fight.  
  
Might as well say _something_. “Sorry for getting you wrapped up in... all of this.”  
  
Kyoko gives her spear an experimental thrust forward. The void sort of vibrates at the point where it stops, and little colored lines radiate outward for a second. Weird. She watches the display with idle curiosity as she replies. “That's what Homura said too. You guys shouldn't apologize so much.” As casually as she can, she rests her spear across her shoulders and looks around.There's a flicker of light, then a click, and countless stars and galaxies fill the sky. Well, at least now there's 'up' and 'down.' “... so, uh, what's going on?”  
  
“I don't know.” You have a sinking feeling in your stomach, though. Your eyes turn up to the stars. “I... think Homura might be making a new universe? Ehe.”  
  
“... am I the only one who _hasn't_ made my own universe at some point? Jeez.”  
  
“Just Madoka has, I think. At least, I've never done it.”  
  
“Hmph.”  
  
Silence returns, and here in the featureless void, things can get _really_ quiet. You might be a weird abstract projection of a human soul again, but Kyoko's still flesh-and-blood. Even at this distance, you can hear her heartbeat. It raises a blush to your cheeks.  
  
Well. You might as well do this.  
  
“H-hey, um, Kyoko?”  
  
“Yeah?” She looks down from studying the stars.  
  
“You... understood all that stuff we told you, about how I'm... kinda dead, and from a different universe, right?”  
  
“Yeah, so?”  
  
“So, um!” You laugh nervously, butterflies in your stomach. “In my universe... I turned into a witch. Like Homura was back there. Me and you... um, the other you, I mean, the you from my universe. We'd been fighting a lot, and we only really ever learned to get along at the very end, but...” It feels like you're making a mess of this whole thing. You've had _ages_ to think about this and plan exactly what to say, but now it's all just kinda gushing out. You clasp your hands in your lap and stare at the blank void below you. “You were the last one with me when I changed, and once I was a witch, you... blew up your soul gem... to kill me.” There are tears in your eyes, and you sniffle as you look up. “To... save me.”  
  
For a moment, Kyoko looks at you like you just handed her a ticking bomb. Then, she turns away to look up to the stars again, hands resting behind her head, and laughs. “She blew herself up to save you, huh? She must have sucked at fighting, if that's the best she could do.”  
  
You sniff again and wipe a tear away with a gloved finger. In the distance, skeletal silhouettes start pushing up to obscure some of the stars. At first, you're not sure what you're looking at, but then it becomes clear: a skyline. You suddenly realize that you're no longer floating, you're _standing_ , and while there's still a featureless black expanse beneath your feet, it's solid now. “S-she wasn't so bad. She almost killed me once, at least.”  
  
“... so why're you telling me this now?”  
  
“I just... we might not have much more time...” Things are going faster now. The air around you vibrates with power as more and more buildings climb into the sky. “I made my contract to help Kyosuke, and back then, I felt like he was the most important person in the world. But ever since... all of that, the only one I can think about is you.”  
  
Your voice is at a near-mumble by the end of the sentence, and it takes every bit of your willpower to look up at meet Kyoko's gaze. She's blushing profusely, and for maybe the first time ever, seems to be at a loss for words. Another thrum of energy runs through the air, and the darkness starts shaping itself. Trees and grass unfold upward, and blue sky starts to hide the void above.  
  
Whatever Homura's doing, you get the feeling it's almost done. You hurriedly turn back to Kyoko. No time to think about your words. Just say what matters.  
  
“A-and then we were getting ready to just fly off and take Homura away, and abandon you again, and... I don't want to do that. I'm tired of leaving you behind.”  
  
“You sure picked a heck of a time to say it, you know.”  
  
“Yeah, ehe, sorry. I guess I'm not really good at this kind of stuff.”  
  
“So what's gonna happen now?”  
  
More and more color is bleeding into your surroundings, and now it's unmistakable: the area that's springing up is more than just familiar. You're only about a block from the school. “I... don't know. If it's anything like when your universe was created, we might not remember anything.” A cold chill runs over you, distracting you from everything else for a moment. You really don't like the idea of letting Homura replace your memories.  
  
“Hmm. We'd better get the important stuff out of the way then, huh?” Kyoko whirls to face you again. You realize that you're both suddenly wearing your school uniforms, but if she notices, she doesn't show it. Grinning mischievously, she lunges forward and grabs the fabric of your shirt, then tugs you into a kiss.  
  
It takes a second for you to get over your initial shock and relax into it. It's... nice. You hear yourself let out a sigh, and Kyoko's lips part, filling your mouth with the tastes of chocolate and sugar. She pulls back, just an inch, and you see that her face is beet red. You're sure that yours is, too. She smirks. “Some day, I'm gonna teach you to stop overcomplicating things—“  
  
A click, like a movie projector switching on, fills the air from every direction, and you find yourself standing on the sidewalk alone. Students filter past and a soft breeze blows in your hair, and you realize: It's started. You do your best to straighten your hair and clear your head. You _have_ to find Homura or Madoka and figure out what the hell's going on.  
  
Welcome to your new universe.

* * *

It's the same recurring nightmare you always have.  
  
The view from within a helmet, and below you, a much smaller Kyoko, weathering every thing that you throw at her. You watch, helpless, as your body moves by itself, pounding Kyoko with attack after attack. You scream for yourself to stop, and the worst part is, it kind of feels like you want this. Kyoko, battered and bloody, detonates her soul gem, and fire washes over you.  
  
You jerk awake in a cold sweat. It's apparently a fast enough motion to wake Kyoko, who is not only next to you in bed, but has her arm draped over your waist. She squirms with a grumble. “The heck're you doing?”  
  
“I had that weird dream again...” you mumble, but the room around you is already distracting you from it. The shelves hold your own small, tasteful collections of dolls and pictures, but the walls also have Kyoko's posters alongside them. Your mirror has a hooded sweatshirt draped over it, and you've done your best to hide the wires for all her game consoles by throwing a rug over them.  
  
Something about the room looks... alien. For just a moment, you don't know where you are. Why's Kyoko in your _bed_ ? What's with your room? Why aren't you...? At the...?  
  
You're on the verge of panic now. Something inside of you screams that this is wrong, there's something you should be _doing_! It's on the tip of your tongue, but slips away back into the depths of your memory. Within a few moments, comforting certainty slips back around you.  
  
 _Y_ _ou are an ordinary magical girl._ _Kyoko Sakura is your girlfriend. You attend Mitakihara Middle School. You are happy here._  
  
Kyoko reaches over to give your hand a squeeze. “Well, I'm still alive.” She chuckles sleepily and sidles up behind you. “Now lay back down, I was comfy like that...”  
  
Across the room, the alarm clock shines 6:42. Normally, you wake up at about 7:45, rush through your morning, and practically run to school... the magical girl life isn't friendly to early risers. A vague feeling of dread is still clawing at you, though, and there's no way you're getting back to sleep within an hour. “... sorry. I'm gonna take a bath.”

* * *

The bath doesn't help as much as you'd hoped. You stare at the surface of the water and uneasily try to work out what's wrong. You study your face in the ripples, as if you're going to find some clue _there_ , and—  
  
You're suddenly underwater, blackness all around you. You claw at it, trying to gain some traction, but you don't even know which way is up. Only after seconds of futile struggle do you realize that you're not alone, and that an enormous shadow is moving in the water in front of you. A single shaft of oily light shines down and illuminates it: a massive, unnatural figure, human on the top half, fish on the bottom, like a mermaid, but wearing some kind of sleek, concealing armor and draped in a cape with a heart-shaped collar.  
  
You should be terrified, but you think it's... trying to help you? The thing roars loudly enough that you can feel the vibrations, and you realize that it's struggling. The darkness seeps in, enveloping it, and seconds later, tendrils of night-dark water wrap around you, crushing you. You struggle, as everything goes black...  
  
—and the image fades as quickly as it started. You're still sitting in the bathtub. The water's drained now, and Kyoko's beating on the door. “Oi, Sayakaaaaa! What the heck?! We're gonna be late!”  
  
“C-coming!” Did you fall asleep in the tub? How in the heck long were you _out_ for? You brush your teeth and throw on your clothes in a hurry, while trying to recall as much of the strange dream as you can. As you finish up and step out of the bathroom, you still can't shake the feeling that something is wrong, something of monumental importance that you're forgetting, and then you see it.  
  
Next to a box of powdered donuts, there's a mess of textbooks and paper on the table. _Homework_. You never did finish the English assignment from yesterday. That must be it. Kyoko's reflection eyes you quizzically from the mirror, where she's finishing getting dressed. “What's _with_ you today?”  
  
“Ehe. I was really nervous that I was forgetting something, but I think it was just homework.”  
  
Kyoko's waiting expectantly, and you've settled into a daily routine enough to know what she wants. You step up behind her and brush her hair back, and she rolls her eyes at you in the mirror. “Worrying about _h_ _omework_ , huh? You're starting to sound like Mami.” The second that you finish tying the black bow to hold her ponytail in place, she snatches her bag off the dresser, slings it over her shoulder, and leans forward to kiss you, all in the same motion. You feel yourself blushing furiously, and she was obviously counting on it. In the second it takes you to recover, she whispers, “Last one to school buys dinner tonight.”  
  
“H-hey! Kyoko!” By the time you recover enough to respond, she's already taken off skip-running toward the door, cackling at you over her shoulder.  
  
You're not about to be beaten that easily, though. You snatch one of your hairclips off the dresser and shove the unfinished homework into your bag. After barely enough time to lock the door, you take off at a sprint, chasing after Kyoko.  
  
You are Sayaka Miki. You are an ordinary magical girl. Kyoko Sakura is your girlfriend. You attend Mitakihara Middle School.  
  
You are happy here.


End file.
